Featuring members of Autopsy. Well, that certainly gets my panties in a bunch.

From the load I dropped in them, that is. Much less produced than Autopsy albums (and that's saying something), Urine Junkies keeps up the musical and lyrical retardation Autopsy favors. There is a kind of fun streak running through this, but not enough to get me hard or anything.

Some people really like out-of-control (and stupid to boot) grindcore. I do, sometimes, but not now. Abscess is simply not even up to those standards.

A friend of mine says the C/Z web page is using one of my reviews to promote Alcohol Funnycar. I can't check it out, because of my current situation, but I said cool and wondered if I'd be seeing anything from C/Z anytime soon.

It's been two long years since any contact, and then this disc shows up in the mail. And it's Alcohol Funnycar, one of my favorite C/Z bands. With a great album.

More mature, more mellow and more anthemic than Time to Make the Donuts, the Funnycar has deemed it proper to record a real fucking punk rawk social statement, as it were. The sound is somewhat pretentious, but the quality of the songwriting, playing and production makes those aspirations acceptable.

A disc I simply cannot press "stop" on. Blown away was light years ago. This fulfills my high expectations and raises them a notch for the next album.

Wow, a real mutation. The verse of "Captain Allen" is a complete departure for Arcwelder, as the trio taken on a more Pacific Northwestern pop approach. The chorus reverts to the more familiar Arcwelder version of the Minneapolis sound. A real cool piece of work.

The flip, a cover of the Volcano Suns' "White Elephant", is a noisy rave-up anthem that sounds a lot more like what came out on Xerxes. And that is nothing to sneeze at, either.

Just whets my appetite for an album.

Two crack pop tunes filtered through all sorts of distortion and samples, with a sample-ridden intermission thrown in to satisfy the noise freaks.

That would be me. Brainiac tries really hard to fuck up any notion of accessibility with its idiosyncrasies, but to no avail. "Go Freaks" and "Simon Says" are infectious as hell and impossible to put down.

Tres cool, mon dudes. Now, an album release one of these days wouldn't be asking too much, would it?

Yes, I know this is a bit dated, but the Leviathan folks wanted me to give my thoughts, and so I shall.

The difference between this disc and the average Shrapnel instrumental guitar album (where most folks who make music like this) is the production and talent. David Chastain is one of the best guitarists around. I feel that he is not exactly sure how to best express this talent, but talent he has.

And this disc much better showcases his skill and songwriting ability than his Chastain efforts. Chastain has always been a very technical player, and playing this sort of guitar fusion (MIDI, effects and lots of overdubs) masks the lack of emotion that can be heard in his more mundane compositions. After all, when you play stuff like this, skill is what folks like to hear.

Well, not me. But then, my feelings about most instrumental guitar albums is well known among my readers. And the odd thing is, in this more technical genre, Chastain sounds like he really is feeling what he is playing. A big step forward.

Fans of this sort of music will lap this up with their tongues, and other folks like me will even be quite interested. A good set.

Four guys from Pittsburgh who play loud music. This is album #2 (as you might have figured out from the title).

Accessible, this is not. Enjoyable, this is. In fact, this is even more fun than the last set, which featured mostly short songs and more conventional structures.

Don Cab goes all out here, with four of the eight tunes clocking in at over nine minutes. Plenty of noise in the background (in fact, "please tokio, please THIS IS TOKIO" could easily be called a masterpiece of noise.

And as the notes say, "Don Caballero is rock not jazz". I don't care what the boys call it, I call it good. Sheer pain for the self-flagellating generation. I mean, most of you watch Friends, right? Don Cab is the perfect antidote.

A 15-track retrospective (with plenty of testimonial action from punk and alternative luminaries) that presents a good picture of the band.

Obviously, I wasn't around when the Effigies ruled Chicago, but I can hear where the Chicago punk sound (later characterized by Naked Raygun and its progeny) came from.

Like you are gonna find any Effigies stuff in the local used bins. While referring to the band as godlike may be going a bit far, anyone interested in a complete punk education should stop off for a class here.

Oh, that stoner grind!

The sound on this EP reverts back to older Exit 13 sound, a level below the awesome previous full-length. But the humor is just as crude and silly as before, and the guys throw in a DK cover and twenty-one minutes of madness called "Snakes and Alligators".

Can this be taken seriously? Well, kinda. The boys are certainly going for unusual sounds in a genre that generally doesn't tolerate such things. The fun factor stays high (as does the band, obviously), and so I must approve.

So German, half the songs are in that language. And while the usual German industrial touches are present (body-jacking beats, monstrous guitars, etc.), Hanzel und Gretyl manage to infuse plenty of innovative touches into their mix.

For starters, the beat does mutate, from mellow to fast, depending on the mood. A few pieces have an almost ambient feel (in a cool way, that is).

Where Die Warzau hyperexperimented with jazz on its last outing, Hanzel und Gretyl really rip through most of the electronic trends of the day, making them theirs. This album has the potential to be a real industrial dance touchstone. So many moods, so many colors... Makes me wonder who can resist.

Doug Carrion (from, um, everything) and Spike Xavier (from Mind Over Four) and some pals hook up to crank out crunchy pop punk.

Hooks flying everywhere, buzzsaw guitar attack like no tomorrow. Catchy as hell, and yet not bubblegum. This is stuff you might have heard in the early or mid-80's. Of course, that sound is popular as hell now, and when you've got a project this cool, why not schlep it out to everyone.

And, despite press to the contrary, Mind Over Four is still a going concern. I was a little worried, but a phone call satisfied my distress. A little more listening helped to satisfy a nagging jones. Just a little louder, now.

One track spins by. Surprise. Two tracks. I border on shock. Three tracks. Amazement.

This album doesn't suck.

For Leeway and me, that's a huge accomplishment. I can't even begin to describe how many Leeway discs I've heard over the years, and the first reaction has always been the same: Yow, this is bad.

Well, their last album had a couple of decent songs, but it was still damned bad. Open Mouth Kiss, however, is definitely in the mediocre range, with some really nice work amongst the rest. Sure, it's the same old metal-core (Cro-Mags school) that the boys have purveying for years, but the lyrics aren't retarded and the music isn't insipid.

Color me amused. A Leeway album I might even listen to again. Will wonders never cease?

A guy from that coolest of trance outfits, Virtualizer (not to mention Ob1), cranks out a space-ambient disc that is pretty much trance without the beats.

And I don't get into it quite so much. But like the Virtualizer projects, there are plenty of music things going on to keep you occupied. And every once in a while, the beats do kick in.

For very spacey stuff, I am surprised I dig this so much. Perhaps it is just the talent behind the noise. Actually, I'd bet on that possibility. Give this an hour of your time, and you won't be disappointed.

The title says it all. This greatest hits sorta thing with some new shit thrown in, like a weird rendition of "Color My World" (yes, Chicago).

Billy Milano is again the driving force behind this set, with plenty of help from a few well-known folks on the side.

If you like M.O.D., you'll undoubtedly dig this. If you don't, run screaming, because M.O.D. is on the loose again. Rampant retardedness will soon be filling the streets.

Color me amused, as usual.

Same old Yngwie. Way-overproduced pabulum, with the meister's usual fluid (and stale) solo work. And the singer has a really reedy voice. He shouldn't be singing this high.

Well, I can't say I'm surprised. The album can't be very good. But I'll slog through if called upon.

One thing I've learned in four years: never trust an EP from a Relapse or Nuclear Blast band. They are quite often substandard and uninteresting. I cite Pyogenesis, Benediction and Mindrot as the most obvious examples. Sure, there's the odd cool Deceased or Meshuggah thing, but the usual pattern is dreadful EP, cool album.

And that certainly hold up here. Matt called up a couple weeks ago to assure me this album had the goods, and I told him I'd be sure to give an impartial listen. THIS IS NOT THE SAME GODDAMNED BAND!!!!

Just had to get that off my chest. Dawning is a wondrous trip through all that is cool about the doom/death movement. And sometimes things get so cool Thin White Rope is recalled (check out "Burden" for that).

Wildly atmospheric and operatic, Mindrot pulls off this audacious attempt with ease. The songs are lovingly crafted into mini-symphonies of darkness, and the performance and production leave nothing to chance. Even the tracks reprised from the EP (which I didn't like) sound much better here. Perhaps there is something to that musical context idea.

Man, I really love this album.

A couple of Girls Against Boys whip out similar grooves with other D.C. pals. Hell, I'm game.

Not quite so driving or heavy as GVB, but every bit as addictive. That sly beat keeps everything moving along quite nicely, and the added emphasis on the sax is quite welcome.

Like beat jazz on hallucinogenics, really. New Wet Kojak is just the sort of thing to play at a party where all your friends are asking for the new (insert cool MTV grunge clone here). It will surprise them, and then they will realize that they really dig it.

A little free-form feeling now and again also adds to the chaos, and the collective that is New Wet Kojak simply keeps cranking out cool tune after cool tune. There is no good reason for the affliction of this affection. I simply love the music.

Some alternate takes, remixes and demos. If you dug the album, this set of goodies will provide even more incentive to admire the creativity of Noise Box.

The sounds range all over the place, from sharp and totally underproduced to techno-industrial thrills. The Northwest industrial scene is alive and well, and Noise Box is one of the top bands in that arena.

Perhaps most important for the completist, nuffnutz is a cool slice of the wide variety of music that Dolores C. Tucker calls "violent trash". Now if we could only focus vitriol on that bitch like we did on Tipper, the world would be a much better place.

A little more straightforward than most Pigface remix projects, this one focuses on the coolest tracks from Notes from Thee Underground: "Asphole", "Fuck It Up" and, most obviously, "Chickasaw".

Oh, sure, the combining of the first two songs mentioned with a cool Evil Mothers song on "Sick Asp F**k" is quite nice. And the three versions of "Chickasaw" are all quite different and interesting.

Not counting the little interludes, you get 13 remixes of eight Pigface songs. A good value, if you ask me. You certainly won't be bored.

While Martin Atkins is the nominal head of that symbiotic relationship known as Pigface, this disc shows precisely how this undertaking is an amazing collaborative effort. Too many cooks sometimes do spoil the broth, but this much talented ferment is too much to overlook.

See also most any influential industrial artist.

Rap straight from the New York scene, sounding a lot like the Beasties and Cypress Hill and House of Pain and all that.

And I know those bands don't sound alike, so don't shout "ignorant fuck!" at me. Roguish Armament combines pieces of each of those (particularly House of Pain beats and Cypress Hill and Beastie delivery) and cranks out something that, while lyrically interesting, is musically stagnant.

The guys have a knack for cool rhymes, but they should work on creating a more unique musical style. I know, to copy is to score big bucks (from the Bomb Squad to Miami bass to Dr. Dre's seventies kick to whatever), but I prefer music that comes out of nowhere. Roguish Armament has some work to do there.

More happy jazz for the sedated masses.

Sheeran looks a little like Yanni, but he can't even live up to that level of creativity. Yeah, the nicely strummed guitar and light drum machine rhythms remind me vaguely of the samba and other such things, but those influences are kept at a minimum. You get too weird, and you lose Aunt Bertha.

That's enough from me on this.

I thought we got rid of shit like this in the mid-80s. You know: cheesy, overmodulated guitar; whiny sneers for vocals, dumb music and dumber lyrics.

This stuff is really bad. "Outta My Face" is the best if the bunch, and that is saying very little. There is no creativity anywhere near this disc. Indeed, I'm afraid of contracting shitty disease if I keep listening. So I won't.

The first Spahn Ranch outings were quite sparsely produced, which lent the band a cool techno industrial sound that was rather unique.

I don't think it sold too well, though, and so those ideas are updated on The Coiled One. The sound is much fuller and the beats omnipresent. Artsy this isn't.

But the first track, "Locusts" is a perfect example of how truly talented people can sell out without getting dull. There is a neat goth feel mixed in with the techno beats and industrial guitars. Indeed, the added goth influence throughout the album adds just the right amount of sheen to that patented Spahn Ranch feel.

But this is much more a dance album than anything that band has done before. Every tune here is revved up and club-ready. As I noted before, the full production really gives a more commercial feel to the stuff, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. How anyone could overlook this disc is beyond me. One of the best industrial dance discs in years.

One of the real finds on the !Cinco Anos! compilation was Starfish, whose two tracks leapt out of the discer and kicked my ass right then and there.

So when this disc was the slightest bit slow in reaching my desk, I put out a frantic call, and in two days it arrived. Seventeen songs full of punk fury and melodic intensity. Kinda like if Rancid was an art band. Or perhaps kinda like Alice Donut.

A lot like that, really. Starfish knows how to rumble, but there are also plenty of contemplative moments on the album, too. The sound is fun, but you can't miss the serious underpinnings, either.

A listen to the first track will have you addicted, so that by the time "Kliffordave" rolls around to grind your ass into a noisy grave, you'll be only too pleased to comply. Fuck genres. Starfish knows how to make great music. And this disc is just plain full of that.

Edgy and eclectic goth pop. Switchblade Symphony adds industrial and ambient touches here and there to fill out the range of sound nicely. But I'm not sure if that's enough to keep my interest.

The songs are just so... nebulous, I guess. Even when the drum machine and bass is keeping the rhythms tight and fast, I feel the songs falling apart at the center. Is there anyone home?

Well, you could also call this a commercial goth vision of Dead Can Dance (or what that major label album sounded a lot like, really). Just want to be known as eccentric geniuses, you know.

Fine, whatever. There's a lot of crafting going on, but I don't feel anything from this music. And while that coldness is a feature of goth pop, the god bands manage to swarm that with an overage of emotion. Not here. Just plain detachment. I can't get into it.

It's no secret: Crazed is the management arm of Megaforce (or is it vice versa by now?). And this brings two tracks each from seven artists on the Crazed roster.

A special note: Dog has now changed its name to Love in Reverse, so make sure you don't fuck that up.

Personally, I dig the Bif Naked tunes (easy pop that just makes me smile), and the Love in Reverse (formerly Dog) is pretty interesting, if a little overproduced. I'd already heard much of the stuff here, so no big surprises. A cool listen.

A total of 35 bands and songs, most of which are readily available somewhere else. This two-disc set is a companion to a book, and so I guess hitting the high notes is more important than unearthing lost treasure.

But there is some of that as well, including a Creaming Jesus track that sounds nothing like the band I remember from the early 90's. But that's life.

If you're just getting into this sort of music and want a primer, this is a decent set. For the devoted fan, nothing new is presented.

Two labels hit 100 at the same time, kicking out a collection of 40 bands that clocks in at just over 100 minutes. That's quite a load.

Anyone familiar with either of these labels knows the emphasis is on attitude and noise as opposed to real songsmithing, but intermixed with the raucous bits are songs by such tunemeisters as Pansy Division, Cub and Mr. T Experience.

Yeah, with any collection this large there is sure to be some shit. But one person's shit is another's orgasmic experience (just ask Chuck Berry), so plow through and you're sure to find Valhalla somewhere.

A cool way to celebrate milestones, and the two labels do it collectively, in style and in true punk community fashion.

Goth pop with cool production from Rosetta Stone (who know how to put the "g" in goth, for sure).

Um, I'm not sure what that last statement means, but it just sounded cool at the time. Anyway, "Christine" is the lead track from the new Wake album, and you also get two remixes of "Watchtower" and "Masked" from the last album, Masked. Oh, and a b-side called "Siren", just to round things out.

The songs themselves are decent goth, but the real star here is the performance and production. The vocals are quite affected, and as I noted, Rosetta Stone really knows how to crank up the goth in anyone. A nice lead-in for the album.